The Basics Of Affiliate Marketing
|
| Whether you realize it or not, if you've been on the Internet today, you have encountered affiliate marketing. If you have ever “clicked thru” one site to order something from another, the first site probably received a portion of the sale. For instance, independent booksellers have limited shelf space for books. But they can offer their customers an almost unlimited inventory of titles by affiliating with companies like Amazon or Powell's. The more orders, the bigger the affiliate percentage. |
| Visitors to your site are interested in lots of things that may or may not be related to your product. But when you know your customers well, it's simply a matter of affiliating yourself with sites that offer what they want. What you receive is just a small percentage of the sale, but it adds up, especially when you consider that all it costs you is a link on your web page. And usually, the more sales your affiliate makes from your “click thru” traffic, the bigger your percentage will be. |
| The key to success in affiliate marketing is being able to track referred customers. As an affiliate manager, you want a system that reliably tracks what you want, with minimal effort on your part, and without affecting the performance of your site or server. Over the last few years a variety of technologies and strategies have been developed in an attempt to improve accuracy, convenience, and flexibility. |
| There are at least half a dozen methods, but by far the most preferred method is Cookie Tracking. It's popular because it makes tracking affiliate-referred sales so convenient, without negatively impacting your site. This system writes a small text file, called a “cookie,” to a user's browser when they click on an affiliate link. |
| When you are the referring affiliate, the cookie holds your ID, so that at the merchant's order page, you get credit for referring the sale. One drawback is that many computer users disable cookies, although most choose not to, since their favorite sites require them. One bonus is that the merchant can save the information, so that even if a customer buys long after clicking through your site, you still get credit for the sale. |
| Here my Top-7 tips for selecting and using affiliate programs |
| 1- Don't confuse affiliate programs with multi-level marketing programs. There are a couple of good affiliate programs that require you to spend money to join, but most do not. If you have to purchase product or recruit others to spend money to join the program, then this is not an affiliate program --it is a multi-level marketing program masqurading as one. |
| 2- Pick an affiliate program that has something to do with your business. For example, if you sell ladies clothing on eBay you would not want to recommend a program that would not be of interest to women. |
| 3- The best programs have two tiers. The first tier is where you get paid for sales that you refer people to. The second tier is where you get paid (a smaller amount) if someone signs up as an affiliate under you and they refer a sale. For example, in my program if you sell one of my eBay Consignment Manuals you earn $24. If one of your sub-affiliates sell the same book, you earn $8.00. |
| 4- Be wary of affiliate programs that have more than two tiers. There are a couple of good affiliate programs that have three tiers but they are rare. When ever I see a program with three or more tiers I am very hesitant to join. Why? If they are paying out more than 50% commissions, that means what the customer is getting can't be that good. As I said, there are exceptions to this but they are rare. |
| 5- Look for affiliate programs that have lots of marketing tools such as pre-written emails, free articles, e-books you can give away and severa banner designs. The more tools an affiliate program has, the more likely you will find one that will work in your market. |
| 6- Always buy one of the products and evaluate it yourself before recommending it to others. Some affiliate programs out there are pretty crappy, while others are no more than information scams. When you recommed a program, your reputation is on the line. You don't want people coming back to you complaining about something you recommend. |
| 7-Always double check your affiliate links. I see broken affliate links all the time. When this happens the customer is usually directed to the web site but your don't get your commission and the affiliate program owner usually has no way to determine who should get credit for the sale. |
Affiliate marketing, at its best, is a win-win scenario. It's an easy way to offer your customers more of what they want, while you benefit, both in terms of building goodwill and making money.
Do you want to learn more about Internet Marketing? I have just completed my brand new guide to Search Engine Marketing Success. Discover The *Secret Formula* We've Used To Stay In Google's Top 3 Rankings For Over 3 Years For Some Of The Toughest Keywords Around (18 MILLION Competitors!)
Download it free here: Search Engine Marketing Success
Serge Daudelin
Affordable Search Engine Optimization Services.com
Serge Daudelin is a Search Engine Optimization Specialist who has written over 300 articles in print and 5 published ebooks. Serge is dedicated to helping others and offering the best information on how to make more money online. |
